Michael Bassett’s book Working With David, Inside the Lange Cabinet, is sitting on my books-to-read shelf so I read this attack on the book and its author by Margaret Pope with interest. It reminded me of an incident after a celebrity debate in Queenstown about 18 years ago.

Garrick Tremain and David Lange were in opposing teams and in ribbing Lange, Tremain blamed him for his (Tremain’s) wife not letting him have a secretary.

Lange took it with a grin but after the debate Pope went up to Tremain and abused him in very basic language for what he’d said.